Measles surges in Spartanburg and Short Creek communities as cases climb

South Carolina health officials reported a dramatic expansion of a measles outbreak centered in Spartanburg County, saying the cluster has reached 558 confirmed cases since it began Oct. 2, 2025. A state Department of Health update on Jan. 16, 2026, said 124 new cases were added since the previous Friday and warned that public exposures, including school exposures and an exposure at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, have driven repeated quarantines of hundreds of children.

The outbreak represents one of the largest local resurgences in the nation amid a national rebound in measles. HealthDay’s Jan. 15 reporting, citing state tracking through that date, examined an earlier subset of 434 South Carolina patients and found 378 were unvaccinated, 47 had unknown vaccination status, six were fully vaccinated and three were partially vaccinated. Two thirds of that 434-case group, 287 people, were ages 5 to 17, underscoring how school-based transmission has amplified the outbreak.

At the same time, a separate, ongoing outbreak that began in August 2025 continues in communities along the Arizona‑Utah border near Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona, an area locally known as Short Creek. State health reports in mid-January show a combined total of 418 cases in that cross‑border cluster, with Mohave County, Arizona, reporting 217 cases and Utah reporting 201. Arizona officials said nine new cases were added on a recent Tuesday to reach 217 in Mohave County; Utah reported two new cases that day to reach 201. Officials in both states cautioned that the true number of infections may be higher than reported.

Nicole Witt of the Arizona Department of Health Services said cases slowed after the holidays but then resumed, and that officials continue to see a “trickle of cases week over week,” expressing cautious hope while acknowledging ongoing transmission. State investigators are conducting contact tracing and exposure notifications, but public health authorities have also warned that undercounts are possible because mild or asymptomatic infections and barriers to care can mask the full scope of spread.

The renewed outbreaks follow a year of widespread measles activity nationwide. CDC figures show 2,144 confirmed U.S. cases across 44 states in 2025; other national tallies put the total nearer 2,242 cases across 45 states. Public health officials have pointed repeatedly to gaps in measles-mumps-rubella vaccination as the primary driver. The CDC recommends the first MMR dose at 12 to 15 months and a second dose at 4 to 6 years as standard protection.

Beyond raw case counts, the outbreaks are testing public health systems and community resilience. School quarantines disrupt education and strain working families, particularly low-income households that lack paid leave or flexible child care. Public health leaders say outbreak control will require rapid vaccination campaigns, clear communication to counter misinformation, and resources targeted to communities with low coverage and limited access to routine care.

As officials race to contain transmission, the human toll is immediate: classrooms emptied by quarantine notices, families scrambling to get children vaccinated, and local public health staff stretched thin. The outbreaks underscore persistent inequities in vaccine access and the continuing consequences when coverage falls below the level needed to protect communities.